The news of Foster's victory came a day after a state commission said his project for a new 4-lane airport for London at the Thames Estuary (we wrote about it in detail earlier) was not financially and technically realistic. Foster, for his part, questioned the findings of the study conducted by the commission (in particular, he believes that the new airport will cost only 5 billion pounds more than the new - the third - Heathrow lane, will be built faster than it, and the design process will take so much same time). In his opinion, the expansion of Heathrow is a half-measure, soon a 4th lane will be needed there, and the airport is surrounded by residential areas and valuable natural lands, which makes the use of new territories difficult. However, Foster's idea was dropped from the list of proposals for the reconstruction of the "air gate" of London. The architect responded by accusing the officials of lacking the courage to even investigate his proposal in more detail.
Therefore, at the ceremony of declaring Lord Foster and Fernando Romero as winners in the competition for the project of a new international airport in Mexico City, the Briton noted that Mexico "took over the initiative" and will now receive an airport like no other in the world.
The new 555,000 m2 building will appear next to the existing Benito Juarez Airport. Its budget will be about 10 billion US dollars: construction will begin in 2015, and already in 2018 more than 70 gates and 3 runways will provide services to 40 million passengers a year. There is also a plan for further expansion: by 2062 there will be 6 runways.
Foster, who changed his approach to designing airports around the world with his plan for the reconstruction of London Stansted, is now proposing a new scheme. More environmentally friendly and convenient, in his opinion, will be a relatively compact building of the only terminal, where the distance between important points and the need to move between levels will be limited to reasonable limits.
The project was influenced by a difficult seismic and geological situation: Mexico City is located at the bottom of a dry lake, and earthquakes are frequent in the region. Therefore, the building weighs relatively little thanks to the lattice forming the roof and walls. Its convenient prefabricated system ensures fast construction. Spans in the terminal will exceed 100 m, and the longest of them will be 170 m.
To reduce the mass, the roof will be freed from pipes and ventilation devices, but solar panels, a rainwater collection system will still be placed there, and it will provide the interior with shade and natural light at the same time; high insulation and acoustic standards will also be met. For most of the year, the building will not need to be heated or cooled, and natural ventilation will provide a supply of fresh air. Architects expect to receive LEED Platinum certification for their work.
